Imaya's Story
by Pikajenn
Summary: What happens when everything you believed to be real ends up not being real at all? That's what happened to Imaya, an Umbreon that is lost and very confused.
1. I'm With You

The night sky welcomed me with cold hands when I woke on a bridge over the Viridian River. I sat on my haunches and closed my eyes against the night sky. My vision had swum for a second and I didn't need to revisit the unconsciousness I'd just left.

Why was my head aching and my vision spinning? I opened one eye, to test myself and sighed when I felt no waves of vertigo.

_It's cold_, I mused silently. It was also dark, which filled me with some concern. He said he'd be here at sunset. He should be here by now. Why wasn't he? It had started to rain about a half an hour ago, but that didn't deter me from keeping a vigilant look out for Tommy.

He's my whole life. Everything that I am and everything that I do is both by and for him. He shaped me into the being that I am today. I used to be weak, picked on, but Tommy…He changed me. Changed me even more than evolution, or life, could.

A woman walked by me but took no notice of me. It didn't surprise me since I fit in well with the near pitch black protection that both the rain and the night provided.

I am, after all, an Umbreon.

So what was I doing on this bridge on this cold, dark, and rainy night? I was waiting for Tommy. He promised he'd meet me here at sunset. Said he had to get something in Pallet. What could be taking so long?

It doesn't take very long to go from Viridian to Pallet and back to Viridian. He has a very fast bike and he is a strong young man. Of course, there was that slight argument that I'd had earlier with him. It happened this morning before he left and it was over something so stupid that I don't even remember now what we fought over. Two of his other Pokemon had joined in and even though I know I was right about whatever it is I can't remember, they (Tommy included) were set to rights that they were correct and that I was wrong.

Foolish of me, perhaps.

It was nearing the middle of December and it was not consistently warm in Viridian. Especially when one is waiting on a wooden bridge over a wide river. Even when one _is_ wearing a most sensible fur coat. Mine came complete with gold accessories.

Another set of footsteps were caught in my sensitive ears and I stood tall to see if it was him, but no, it was just a girl, maybe all of seventeen. She spared me a long look, but didn't stop. I was secretly surprised she even noticed me. Maybe my bands were glowing…

I checked quickly, but no, they weren't glowing. It's awfully embarrassing to be caught with your rings glowing. Bad enough a lot of people think we Umbreons are an evil lot. No, why not get the rings glowing to cement their fears. Might as well let the red eyes glow. They do reflect light, but it comes with the whole night vision package.

But Tommy…maybe he was waiting for me somewhere else. Maybe he'd said the _pub_ by the bridge and not the bridge itself. Couldn't hurt to go looking.

* * *

It was easy enough for me to slip inside the pub, even though it was nearing midnight; the joint was still in full swing. The good-natured laughing, music, and dancing filtered out into the relative quiet of the night.

Not only was the pub noisy and full of humans and even a few Pokemon, but it was also smoky. Cigarette smoky and whatever else humans managed to find to smoke. I coughed once, and kept on looking out for Tommy or his distinctively bright yellow backpack. He usually placed it on the ground whenever we went inside a human eating establishment.

Winding a path through and under tables, I found no sign of Tommy or his backpack. Not even any sign of Briar the Ivysaur or Talon the Jolteon. I was longing for even a brief sighting of one of their smug muzzles.

A flash of panic flared through me. Could Tommy have…abandoned me?

_No_, I thought stubbornly. _That's simply not possible. Not with all the training Tommy and I did. Even if he **was** mad enough to spit bricks, Tommy wouldn't just abandon me. He'd at least ship me off to one of his three sisters. I think Eva likes dark Pokemon._

Not finding Tommy in a pub made some sort of sense. He really only walked into one when really desperate for something to eat or drink. Even though he was of drinking age, at 20, he rarely drank anything humans termed al-ko-holic.

Fear mingled with apprehension, two very unwelcome guests, and I darted out of the pub, right under the feet of an entering human. I heard a startled, "Hey!" but ignored it and resumed walking in the rain.

* * *

My breath flared out in twin jets of white. It was really getting cold now. I spared a look towards the bridge, spotting how empty it was. No Tommy, Briar, or Talon. No bright yellow backpack. Nothing.

I couldn't believe that no one was trying to find me.

_Wait a tic_ My vision swam. _Maybe I hadn't been waiting for Tommy. The argument…The disagreement had ended with me running off and Tommy calling for me._

The truth took a second to sink in. I hadn't been abandoned; I'd abandoned him.

My eyes squeezed shut, against the truth and the cold. Harsh reality stung like the rain that was turning to sleet. I'd left Tommy. He had no reason to come looking for me.

But what to do? If I had no Trainer, then I was on my own until another took it upon himself, or herself to be p.c., to catch me. I stifled a whimper. I didn't _want_ to be caught by another Trainer. I wanted Tommy.

Yet, for the moment I needed to set those thoughts aside. Shelter was one thing I needed to find, especially against such cold. The only Pokemon to stand against this mess would be one who would love it and –

– Misstep…I almost fell. With a sigh, I stood still and shook my head, feeling my long black ears hit on my back. I definitely needed to be more careful. To be unconscious out here would mean a lot of things that were not good.

I took a look around, to rejudge where I was. It seems I'd walked beyond the bridge and pub and was further into the city. The winds were still blowing, but not the gusting that had gone on around the bridge.

There were people here too. Some walking with others, and some alone, but none of them were Tommy. For a second, I thought I'd seen a bright yellow backpack, but it turned out to be a Pikachu on its Trainer's shoulder.

Where to go? I growled softly in frustration, unable to concentrate on the thought at paw. _Focus…just focus._ The one place where Trainers really gathered would be…

A Pokécenter! Of course! The idea came so swiftly, it was almost like being hit with an attack. A Trainer would go to the Pokécenter first thing. Not only did a Pokécenter provide healing for injured or sick Pokemon, but it also provided rooms to traveling Trainers.

Of course Tommy would go there. He's a smart boy.

* * *

The doors to the Viridian City Pokecenter hissed open, spilling out some of the warmth before I stepped in. I didn't dawdle in the entrance but walked up to the front desk, which was specially designed with shorter Pokemon in mind, and got the attention of the nurse on duty.

She peered down at me and said, "Oh my! Where is your Trainer?"

Naturally I began to tell her my plight, but she waved me into silence.

"Follow me," she said, getting up and leaving a Chansey in charge, "I forgot my translator in the back room."

All Nurses and Officers had translators; it was part of their job equipment. Translators were usually in the form of earrings or necklaces, and they could translate any language into the most common form used. Pokespeach into Humanspeach, or even one dialect of Humanspeach into another. Like French to English.

The translators were very handy, but still very expensive. Only those that got them for free or with a discount (like Nurses and Officers), or wealthy humans and Trainers who could afford them would have a Translator. It made life easier for Pokemon in general.

Tommy has a translator.

The nurse searched on a slightly messy desk, ruffling several papers, before finding a set of gold hoop earrings. The topaz gem gleamed in the dim light of the room. That gem was part of the Translator system.

She stared down at me kindly, the earrings swinging on her earlobes. "Okay, do you want to talk here or in the common room?"

I chose the common room and she led me back out front. Quick thinking decided that if she hadn't heard of Tommy or his other Pokemon, then maybe I'd be able to either see him or get a hold of someone who might have.

Ten minutes into my story the nurse shook her head. "Tommy Holmesby? I'm sorry, but I haven't seen your Trainer. I could check to see if he's registered for a room or if he'd dropped off his Pokemon."

Naturally I agreed to that and I followed her to the desk. I wasn't allowed behind it, but I waited patiently in front of it. I shivered as a wayward bit of melted snow trickled through my thick coat to the skin.

"Well…it looks as if he _had_ been here earlier today," the nurse said, frowning at the screen. "But he's only got two Pokemon registered to him. Are you sure this is the right Trainer?"

Full of fear, I bounded around the desk to see her computer monitor. There on the screen was Tommy's Trainer photo, along with a photo of Briar and Talon. There was no mention of me at all.

_

* * *

Why is everything so confusing? I thought to myself. It made no sense. No sense at all. Why would Tommy not have me listed in his Trainers notes? I wasn't even on his 'Dex anymore. There hadn't been a mention of an Umbreon at all. Could he have decided I left him for good?_

How did I know I wasn't in his 'Dex, you might be wondering? Well, when a Trainer drops off his or her Pokemon for healing, the Trainers Pokedex is scanned. Just to be certain that the Pokemon the Trainer has is really their Pokemon.

A lot of stolen or illegally gotten Pokemon had been returned to their rightful owners that way.

But me…I wasn't in Tommy's 'Dex at all. Could my info been wiped out? Could Tommy do that? I hadn't asked the nurse that. For one thing it was too embarrassing and for another she was suddenly busy with a Vaporeon that had a bit of frostbite.

The wind gusted around me suddenly, reminding me that I wasn't in the Pokécenter anymore. Where was I now? I was sitting on a cliff overlooking Viridian. It had a very good view of the city, but offered nothing more.

The full moon was hidden and then revealed as thin clouds raced across the night sky. An oak tree, its limbs bare and skeletal, rose above me. Thick evergreen shrubs were directly behind me.

From Viridian, the cliff reminded me of a banana. I had a banana once, with Tommy, when we went to the Orange Islands. It was nice and warm there. Tommy had defeated two of the four gym leaders, but stopped battling because it was just too nice in the Islands. He had decided to vacation instead of battling. Adding to his quality time, instead of his Training time.

Tommy…

Great sorrow welled up inside me. Maybe I'm just out of my mind.

I threw back my head and wailed my sorrows and fears with yodeling howls.

* * *

A half-hour later, I stiffly made my way back down to Viridian. It had crossed my mind to just end it all on the top of that cliff, but what would that prove? That I could fly? The landing wouldn't have been pretty.

Sharp pain laced through my front right paw and I yelped in surprise. I'd walked right into a puddle that apparently had a broken bottle in it. One I hadn't seen. Oh heck, I was so deep in thought that I didn't even see the puddle.

With a wince of pain, I gently put my injured paw down on cold, but dry, ground. I bit back another outburst and settled for a small growl. _Stupid, really stupid._ I chastised myself. _Get yourself injured when no one can care for you._

It was true. I was out so late at night that no one was walking around. They'd be stupid to be walking around. Not only was it late, a look to a small shop with a clock in the window told me it was nearly one in the morning, but it was cold. Bitter cold.

Of course, most Pokemon could deal with the cold. It was all a matter of how you holed up for the night. _Smart_ Pokemon would burrow in a hole or in a shrub. But here in the civilized streets of Viridian, with decorative potted trees and concrete walkways and streets, there was no place to do that.

I limped to an alley and was surprised to see just how clean it was. Viridian was not a city to take refuge in. Even Vermilion City had some shady alleys that _could_ provide some shelter. Not that Vermilion was prone to sharp winters like this.

It was surprising to see such cold weather in Viridian, though I'd never been here in the winter. Usually, we'd winter in a warmer climate. Being with a Trainer had advantages I apparently took for granted.

_Just for a little while_, I thought to myself as I curled up beside a dumpster. Gently, I tucked my wet, bleeding paw under my chest. I knew it would be important to keep what was wet as warm as I could. _I'll rest for a little while, build up my strength, and get back to the Pokécenter. Luckily they're open day and night. It's just too far to walk to now. Three blocks too far._

Using my not injured and not wet left front leg as a pillow, I rested my head on it and shut my eyes. My thick tail wrapped around my legs and over my nose. I wouldn't sleep for long, just a little while. I yawned, and the bitter cold air I breathed in almost woke me.

_Just a little sleep._

* * *

A jostling under me woke me and I growled softly. The hands, as they were hands of some human, paused in their mission. I huffed a small breath and after a short time began to fall asleep.

And again someone tried to pick me up. This time one hand grabbed the ruff of my neck and the other went under my belly. I was so tired I couldn't even whimper. There was a brief nauseating feeling and suddenly I could hear a heart beating and there was sudden warmth around me.

My own heart began to beat fast. Could it…could it be Tommy?

Desperately, I tried to open my eyes, but found I couldn't. I whimpered at that and I heard the person talk and I grew confused.

"Shh, little one. It'll be okay." A pause. "The Pokecenter is in sight. It'll all be over soon."

Something in that wording worried me. The person wasn't Tommy. For one thing, this human sounded female. For another, Tommy wouldn't have called me 'little one' and he'd have used my Pokeball to keep me in stasis until reaching the Pokecenter. I tried to whimper but was surprised when it came out a whine.

Then there came a great burst of heat, human noises, and bright light.

In all the commotion, I fainted.

_

* * *

"That's not my Pokemon."_

The words had been spoken with simplistic authority. Tommy's authority. They'd also been spoken twenty minutes ago. Twenty-five minutes ago was when Tommy had lain eyes on me for the first time in, what I knew of, for twenty-four hours.

And he denied me.

He denied our bond and he denied that I'd ever been in his care. Oh he'd had an Umbreon, once, but he'd given _that_ Pokemon to his sister three years ago.

I'd tried to talk with Briar and Talon, but they would have nothing to do with me, other than a vine whip from Briar. Talon had said I was a nutcase, and the two stayed close to Tommy's side, guarding him from this new threat.

From me.

As for me, myself, and I, my place was at the side of one of Nurse Joy's assistants. It turned out that Tava, the assistant, had been the one to find me and to carry me back to the Pokecenter.

Only Nurse Joy, who had an identical relative Nurse in every possible Pokecenter or health establishment world wide, was the lead nurse in this center. There were about twenty other nurses or doctors, plus assistants, who worked in the Viridian Pokecenter alone.

Tava's fingers gripped the ruff of my neck, as she was crouched down by my side momentarily. I looked up at her and she smiled reassuringly, a look that said, "Everything will be fine."

But would it? What was so wrong, what had _gone_ so terribly wrong, that Tommy would disclaim me? Had I been so horrible to him? Maybe I needed a complete attitude adjustment or something. I tried to catch Tommy's gaze, but he was looking at Nurse Joy.

Nurse Joy sighed patiently. She was overseeing everything and was very much unruffled by the situation at hand. The very picture of calm and serenity. Everything I was currently _not_ feeling.

"The Umbreon says that she is yours," Nurse Joy said, "and with the heartfelt sincerity of her words, I find it difficult to believe that she isn't."

Tommy sighed as well, a sound so familiar to me that my heart wrenched, and said, "But I keep telling you…She's _not_ mine! I only had one Umbreon and I gave her to my sister three years ago!"

Tava stood up. "Are you sure this one isn't yours? Maybe she left your sister to find you."

Fully encouraging of such a suggestion, I nodded enthusiastically.

Tommy looked from Tava to me. "Well, there's only one way to prove that."

And there was. It only took a quick Vid-Phone call to Eva, the sister in question, to prove that.

"Sorry, brother, but Dark is right here with me," Eva said, looking quite apologetic. A dark head popped up…an Umbreon. Its red eyes bore into mine for a second, then it vanished, ducking out of view.

"There you go," Tommy shrugged. "That's my Umbreon, which is now my sister's. This one simply isn't mine."

My world spun. _Impossible…Simply impossible._

Things went in a most bizarre way after that. Nurse Joy came to the conclusion that I must've been separated from my real Trainer, gotten hurt, suffered head trauma of some sort (apparently there'd been a lump on the right side of my head that I somehow hadn't noticed), and then been injured and suffered from exposure to cold temperatures.

Tommy Holmesby, a legendary Trainer in his own right, was as popular and widely known as most singing sensations. He'd even been approached to star in a movie, as he had the right sort of look. He was nearly as famous as Ash Ketchum, and that was pretty darned famous.

Nurse Joy also came to the conclusion that my real Trainer must've followed Tommy to a near fanatical state and that when I was injured, that the hit to my head sparked some sort of delusion in which I _believed_ that I was one of Tommy's Pokemon.

But what they didn't know was that they were wrong. Dead wrong. Tommy is my Trainer and if he can't realize that, then I'll have to force him to.

* * *

Tommy Holmesby left the Pokecenter later that night, stepping out of the Pokecenter to catch a cab. Two Pokeballs were lashed to his belt, containing Briar and Talon, and he hefted his bright yellow backpack over his shoulder.

A low whine made him turn around and look down. He sighed when he saw the rejected Umbreon, submissively coming up to him. With his translator, in the form of a gold Pokeball charm necklace, hanging around his neck, he heard every pitiful word from the creature.

"Please, just…remember me!" Her tone was whining and very nearly pathetic to him. "I know you must. Don't you remember all the good times we had?"

"I'm sorry, but really, you're not mine!" Tommy's eyebrows knit together in sympathy. "I wish there were some way for me to help you out, but I can't. Nurse Joy will."

"You can help by taking me back!" She whined. "I'm sorry, for whatever I did to make you hate me so much."

She advanced down the snow cleared stairs. "Take me back!"

Tommy opened his mouth to say no, when two popping sounds filled the air. Briar and Talon formed from white energy beams into two very advanced and confident Pokemon.

"Can't you take a hint?" Talon sneered. "Go away, runt!"

"Your real Trainer will come for you," Briar said, her tone softer. "Wait for him or her."

The Umbreon's eyes widened and she took a step back. "You two…we trained together! Don't you remember me? At all?"

Talon cocked his head. "Why would we remember you? You don't belong with us! You're not even in the same league as we are!"

"Steady down, Talon!" Tommy said, his tone stern. The Jolteon complied sulkily. "What they're trying to say is what _I'm_ trying to say! Please, Umbreon, just–"

"My _name_ is Imaya," The Umbreon said with thinly veiled shock. "I can't believe you don't remember _that_. What kind of a Trainer are you?"

"Obviously _not **yours**!_" Talon shouted, electricity sparkling around his powerful form. "How thick is your skull that you can't comprehend that?"

The doors to the Pokecenter hissed open and Tava stood there in her leather coat. "What's going on?"

The taxi pulled up then, a black four door sedan, and waited for Tommy.

"This Umbreon wants me to take it back." Tommy said, walking towards the taxi. "Can you please deal with it?"

"It?" Imaya sounded dismayed. "I'm _not_ an it!"

"Whatever," the Jolteon said dismissively. "We're leaving and you're staying. Catch you later, runt."

Tava, not understanding the words but understanding the tone, said, "Come on, Umbreon, we'll find your Trainer…"

But Imaya obviously had other ideas. She ran towards Tommy with a cry of, "Don't leave me!"

Briar had just been recalled, but Talon was still standing and still very protective of his Trainer. Without hesitating, the electric pokemon that was a much higher level than the Umbreon launched a lightshow of an attack, throwing the dark Pokemon back against the brick wall of the Pokecenter.

Tommy recalled the Jolteon, reattaching the Pokeball to its slot on the belt, and said, "Please…make sure it doesn't follow."

Then he slipped into the taxi, closed the door, and the sedan drove off. The red taillights disappeared around a corner and Tommy Holmesby was gone.

Tava, who was aware of the stares of people walking by and those in the Pokecenter, bent down to the Umbreon. The Pokemon was conscious and whined softly, closing her red eyes in defeat. If her body hadn't been rigid from the force of the electric shock, Tava knew the Pokemon would've sagged in defeat, right along with her spirits.

The girl sighed. "I can't promise you that you'll have a life in the spotlight, but I can promise that I'll take good care of you."

One red eye opened and locked its steady gaze on Tava. Feeling a bit on the spot, Tava reddened, but continued. "What I mean is that if we can't find your real Trainer, would you like to be my Pokemon?"

Tava heard the doors hiss open, felt a sudden gust of warm air, and felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see her boss, Nurse Joy, holding out a necklace. "For you to hear her reply."

Gratefully, Tava slipped it on. "Well? Would you?"

"Take me somewhere new," Imaya held out a paw. "I don't know who you are but I…I'm with you."

-TBC-

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

This is a rewrite of _I'm With You_ and I made a few changes. I changed two of Tommy's Pokemon's names. Bria is now Briar and Talon used to be...um...bad me, I can't remember!And the biggest change was the Finis at the end to TBC, which of course, is to be continued.

I hope you enjoy this new version!


	2. My Happy Ending

Humans are a strange lot of creatures. For instance, they have these strange things they call sayings. From what I've heard of these sayings things, I pretty much think they are laws of a sort. We Pokemon don't have sayings, we have guide lines, or laws or rules, that are integral to our survival. Rapidash and Ponyta have laws like, stay true to your herd, while Houndoom and Houndour have rules to keep their packs a tight unit.

Humans, on the other paw, have weird sayings like 'water under the bridge.' I am growing more used to humans and their oddities, but their sayings are just strange. Tava has explained to me that 'water under the bridge' isn't just physical water flowing under a physical bridge, but that you are the bridge and the water is time and things that happen in that time. So the past flows on, and the future is always coming at you.

As I said. Humans are strange.

Right now, water was running under my bridge, only it really is water. I can see a goldeen flitting through the slow moving current. It's dark out, but my night vision is superb. From my lazy lying position on the wooden bridge, I dangled a paw over the edge and rested my head on the other stretched out paw. I was kind of sleepy, even though the night is supposed to be refreshing to my kind.

A cool breeze darted past me, ruffling the black fur on my back. From half lidded red eyes, I looked around me. No one, human or pokemon was around, but the sudden breeze woke me up inside just a fraction. It had only been six months since Tommy left my life, and I was still trying to pick up the pieces of my life.

Tava had been a huge help, especially keeping me from my deeper depressional moments, but there were some times when sorrow just hit me so sharp and suddenly, that I almost expected to bleed. There had been no owner found for me. No one had reported an Umbreon being lost or stolen. No one had tried to claim me, even to lie about having owned me. I was almost kind of insulted.

That also depressed me. Weren't Umbreons desirable? Were we not strong enough? We weren't as weak as our beginning evolutionary Eevee stage. The only evolution that could bring us down in one hit would be a Psychic type. We were not weak like fire types. Not fearful like some Bug types.

However we had gotten a bad rap from our Houndour cousins. Perhaps that is the reasoning in those little human minds. No, I cannot be so cruel against all humans. Tava is an exception. And that nice man in the meat shop down the street. He is nice towards me, even so much as to slip a few Tauros links to me.

But Tommy…I looked down at the water flowing under the bridge. It wasn't all that far below me, but I knew the waters ran deep. The wide river had a guest in it just last week. A Gyarados had gotten lost and had swum up from the bay in Pallet. It had been relocated safely, but if I jumped into the river, would I eventually end up in Pallet Bay?

Squeezing my eyes shut, I knew I had to stop thinking like that. Yet, on the other paw, there was a very large part of me that could not let go of the profound feeling that Tommy is truly my trainer. That Talon and Briar are truly my teammates. Now I know what you might be thinking and yes it is probably what Tava would not only be thinking, but saying.

Let. It. Go.

She offered to let her Alakazam scan me telepathically, but I declined. I was scared, so scared that the truth would be revealed. That I would be hit in the face that Tommy isn't my trainer. That part doesn't scare me as much as the possibility that there is something worse in my past.

* * *

A couple days later, I was trotting down the street, listening to the pleasant jangling of my translator tag hitting against my id tag. Yes I wore a collar, but it was a gorgeous red shade that was set of nicely by my jet black coat. I had just visited Leo, the apparently cute human male that Tava enjoyed talking with. I was bringing back a small load of fresh meat, which was carefully packed and placed in a makeshift saddle bag that rested across my back. 

When I got into the apartment that Tava rented at the Pokecenter, I was greeted by a very happy human.

"We're going to Lavender!" she exclaimed, taking the load off of my back. While she put the meat away, she told me that we were going there for a small vacation. "We're leaving tonight."

And we did. Tava let me stay out of my temporary pokeball through the trip. We took a magnet train from Viridian to Saffron, and then took a pidgeot pulled skiff to Lavender. The sun was hanging heavy in the sky, leaving about an hour before sunset.

Tava checked into a small hotel and after she dropped her suitcase into the room, she and I explored the city. Lavender is a city with a sad reputation. Up until about ten years ago, so Tava had told me, it had primarily been a city that was centralized to be a cemetery for pokemon. While I think it is a great thing for humans to do to memorialize us, for all that we do for them, it really creeped me out.

These days, Lavender is a town to remember fallen Pokemon, but it has also become a seaside tourist stop. It was full of history, but also a city that was very close to the ocean. While the sad part of town was separated from the ocean by a slight mountain range, it was very easy to get to the other side and the sprawling beach.

Alas, the beach was not to be our destination. Tava neglected to tell me one slightly important thing. She was here to do some work for the Viridian pokecenter. There were records that needed to be checked, tombstones that needed photographed, and little human things like that.

"You just looked so down," she said, crouched down to stroke my head. Her thick auburn hair fell over her shoulder in a braid. "I figured a change of scenery would make you feel better."

"Thank you," was what I managed to say. Inside, I was thinking quite the opposite. Why bring me to a city so dead? Did she want me to bury my past? Oh why was I letting this eat at me so much? I should just let her Alakazam scan me and be done with it.

What she didn't count on was the appearance of one particular human.

Neither did I.

* * *

The next morning dawned very bright and sunny. Tava was up and getting ready to meet with the head Nurse for Lavender Town. I would be exploring said sad town, looking for something to keep me from being depressed.

Seeing as how it was either walking or letting the Nurse sedate me with something akin to human medications for anti-depression, I chose the more natural of the two.

I wandered through the town, catching a mix of humans. Some were crying over tomb markers, while others were laughing and seemingly remembering happier times. I walked into a cemetery and instantly felt as if I'd crossed a border. I looked around the entrance and saw little trinkets strung up along the fence that surrounded this grave site. Yup, little power totems humans had hung up. They created a sort of paranormal fence so that people couldn't come in if they wanted to desecrate the site.

Being a dark type, I could sense spirits hanging around the land here. They weren't ghosts and they weren't ghost types. Ghosts were a being that was created after a pokemon or person died in such a way that they either didn't want to move on or they didn't know that they had died. I think you know what ghost types are.

Spirits are beings that have moved on, and only come back to the mortal world to let their loved ones know they were alright. Kind of to comfort, I suppose. One other thing about spirits. They're bright to those that can see them. They shine like miniature suns, only toning down the intensity if they want to be seen by those that can't see. Some humans are sensitive and can see them. Those that can't, often report feeling warmth, or smelling a familiar scent.

I felt nothing as I looked around the cemetery. I did, however, see one particular spirit. It was hovering around a tombstone. A human was there, crouched in front of the stone. The human's back was to me and the spirit didn't look over at me. It was a pokemon spirit, an Onix, and its massive spectral body curled around the human and the tombstone and the bright yellow backpack.

My heart thudded and I felt as if my black fur was bleached white. It _couldn't_ be him. I took a step forward, but the human stood up, grabbing the backpack and I froze in mid-step. This had to be a test. It couldn't be him.

The human turned around and started to walk towards the exit. The exit happened to be just a few steps beyond me. I leapt into the shadowy recesses of a thick bush and waited for the human to walk past. My ears twitched reflexively at his approach and when he walked by, I looked up and saw his face.

It _was_ Tommy Holmesby.

Peering out of the bush, I watched him leave the cemetery and as the Onix followed him and reached the gateway, the Onix faded out of sight. I stepped out of my hiding place and looked at the exit. I didn't think he'd be coming back. One ear twitched backwards, listening for any other humans. I looked back and saw what my ear reported to me. I was alone.

Wondering who could be buried there, I walked quickly to the tombstone. It was a pokemon I didn't recognize, called Alary. It wasn't the Onix though, since this pokemon had been an Altaria. Stunningly, I hadn't recognize the Onix either. I looked back at the exit and decided to follow my former trainer.

When Tommy stepped into a pub, I was slightly surprised. I followed after him, using a special entrance for pokemon. The room I stepped into was large, moderately filled, and decorated in a sort of old age pub style with wood floors and walls. The ceiling was tiled, and the booth seats that lined the walls had thick red coverings.

It wasn't smoky like the one in Viridian. There was a song playing low in the background. Some human girl was singing a love song. Two lines flowed in through my translator before I caught sight of Tommy and suddenly didn't hear the song any more.

He was being seated in a single booth. Alone. That could only mean that he wasn't expecting anyone.

At least, no one that was human.

"Can I help you?" A polite feminine voice broke into my thoughts and I jumped a little.

Looking up, I saw a blonde human female looking down at me. She was dressed in a dark blue pub uniform. "No," I said softly, "I found who I was looking for."

"Would you like me to usher you over?" the woman smiled politely.

"No, thank you," I started to walk over. There were free standing tables in the middle of the room, and in the very center of the room was a water feature that had some imported fish. I'd seen them before, and Tava told me they were called Coy. Silly name for fish, but fitting since they were very timid creatures.

My heart started to beat rapid fire, like when you go out to battle. The closer I got, the more I thought I'd faint. What if he sent Talon after me? _Please, oh please let me just talk to you,_ I thought frantically.

Tava would be so angry at me if she knew I was doing this.

Slinking up to the booth, ears flattened against my back in the ultimate submission gesture (Though humans rarely understand body language, even if it's practically screaming at them.) I paused by the table. Tommy was lost in the menu, which was large and blocked his view of me. I took that to my advantage and jumped up onto the opposing seat of the booth he was in.

He must have sensed me, or I must have made some sort of noise, for he set the menu down and did a double take, "By Ho-oh, you frightened me."

My nostrils flared in fear and I stuttered, "P…please just hear me out."

What felt like forever flashed before me. Then he spoke.

"All right."

* * *

Have you ever seen someone faint from overwhelming relief? Tommy almost did. I almost fainted when he said that, when he _accepted_ my proposed talk. We didn't talk right there. Tommy told me that he'd had a long morning and wanted some lunch. He also told me that he'd left Talon in Cerulean and only had Adele with him. I didn't recognize that name. Maybe he'd traded Briar for this Adele.

Whether that was a good thing or not, I didn't know. All I knew was that I felt something inside, something that was sending a stinging sensation through to my core.

_He was going to talk to me._

What was more, he had offered to buy me lunch. I only accepted a dish of water, since I was too keyed up to eat. "_He was going to talk to me,"_ was one of a few hundred thoughts and hopes flying through me at warp speed. I must confess that the thought of him accepting me back to him was also crossing my heart, but I didn't hold any true hope for that.

In the middle of his lunch, two male humans walked into the pub and were guided to Tommy's table. They were tall, one had black hair and the other had hair that was light teal in color. They were both slender, but well built, males of their kind.

Eric Biro and Matt Parker, two of Tommy's closest friends and rivals.

"Who's that?" Eric asked as the two newcomers walked up to the booth. I took this opportunity to leap off the seat, go under the table, and up next to Tommy, on the wall side.

"This is Imaya," Tommy said smoothly, as he crunched a French fry. "She's my lunch guest today."

"Aww, I thought we were!" Matt said, as he and Eric sat in the spot I'd vacated. "At least she kept the seat warm."

"Hang on," Eric said as he stole a fry, "Isn't Imaya the name of that Umbreon that keeps on hounding you? I heard she's difficult."

Fighting back the urge to growl or snap at him for his insensitive and completely untrue statements, I merely sat back and tried to look cute or at least unthreatening. I remembered those two humans to be most difficult themselves.

One memory tore through me. Tommy was sneaking onto a property in his neighborhood, being led by Eric, and Matt was bringing up the rear. There was a scizor and a ninetales along with me. To make a long story short, they totally ruined a wooden deck of a rude family in the neighborhood, and managed to make it look like it had been done by wild pokemon.

"Takes one to know one, I suppose," I shot back sweetly.

Matt's eyes widened, then he smiled, "A translator, and on such a lovely collar."

Oh, he got brownie points for that. Eric just hrumphed and grabbed another fry.

"She's not that bad," Tommy said gently, "I think just a little confused."

I let that slide for now. I was going to get to talk to him…that is, if these dweebs ever left.

Tommy chatted with his friends, and I curled up on the seat next to him. They talked about girls, gym battles, and sometimes about me. Some things shot through me and left me feeling cold. Even Matt had said something particularly not nice.

_What do they know, _I thought sourly_. They don't know me. I don't think they even know him all that well._

"Hey guys," Tommy broke into a conversation about the pluses of rare candy, "I gotta go. I have to meet someone in an hour and I still want to let little Imaya here have her say."

"No fair," Matt protested.

"It's your time, man," Eric said, eyeing me as Tommy got up and let me leap to the ground. "I still say it's a waste of time."

Me, I considered if it would be a waste to Shadow Ball this guy. Yeah, probably would.

* * *

A twinge of regret pulled at my conscious. I should have met with Tava for lunch, but I went ahead and chased after someone I think I know. Wind blew gustily at me, forcing me to flatten my ears against my back. It subsided and I cocked my head as I looked at Tommy.

We were sitting at a overlook at the cliffs that rose high above Lavender town. These were the ones that separated the beach region from the sad Lavender town. The cliffs were even higher than the Pokemon Tower, where the uber rich interred their deceased loved ones.

The region had national parks over the land, and this happened to be one of them. There were wonderful panoramic views of the town. You could even see as far as Cerulean on a clear day. This wasn't one of them though, it was a bit cloudy. Kind of fitting, what with Tommy telling me I definitely wasn't his.

"So you see, I'm really not connected with you in any way," he'd sat on a fallen log and I'd also gotten on it, choosing to lay on it, with one paw close to his jean encased legs. "I'm really sorry that you're not mine though. You seem like you have a very loyal personality."

"Thank you, I think," I said, then laid my head on my outstretched forelegs. I could feel his hand on my head, so heavy yet comforting. I closed my eyes, feeling so safe, so _complete._ How could this not be right?

"No, it's a compliment," he said. There was a pause, then he reached under my chin. I lifted it, eyes still closed, and he scratched under it. That was _nice._ His nails weren't as blunt as some human males, so it didn't feel like rubbing, this was scratching. "Now what is your story, little one?"

My body stiffened as if I'd been hit with an electrical attack – and trust me, I know what _that_ feels like. Memories flooded me, memories of That Night. Little one…_Tommy wouldn't have called me 'little one'_

But he just did.

_What's going on? What is **wrong** with me?_

"I don't know, but we'll figure it out," Tommy said soothingly, digging his fingers between my shoulder blades and unkinking a stiff group of muscles.

I must've said that out loud. I certainly hadn't meant to.

Instead of complaining some more, I told him my story from the point I could remember. I told him that we'd had a fight and that I left. Then waiting on the bridge, looking for him in the pub, and then almost freezing to death in the sudden snow storm.

He winced at that and shook his head, "I'd thought that you'd been there all night. I just assumed you wouldn't have been outside. I'm sorry."

The apology was true and honest, but a part of me felt empty when he said it. It was like it didn't matter to that part of me. I told him then that Tava offered to let her Alakazam scan me, to see if he could find anything in my memories. Or to see if some memories had been modified.

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Tommy said, standing up and stretching. He turned to look at me and something inside, some emotion, twanged with a pure note. His form shivered and distorted and I looked away when I realized that tears filled my eyes. Since when could Umbreons cry?

"Imaya?"

Furiously, I blinked away the foolish tears, and I looked back. "Yeah?"

He smiled, a bit sadly, "I have to go now. I hope I've at least given you some sort of closure."

_Closure for something I…don't even understand._

"Yeah. I mean, you have."

_You completely haven't. You've completely confused me, and mixed up all my emotions._

Tommy hefted his backpack and looked at the sky, "You'd better start getting back, too. It looks like it's going to storm and this park closes when the weather turns bad."

I looked up at the darkening sky. Clouds were heavy with condensation and there was a low rumbling in the distance. I hadn't noticed the growing scent of ozone and rain until just then. "Sure."

He turned to leave the observation deck, which was devoid of people that had been there earlier, to walk down wooden stairs.

"Tommy!"

He stopped and looked back.

"I…I'll see you around, right?"

"Sure, kid." A small smile crossed his face, "Good bye, Imaya."

I watched him descend the stairs, making his way to the elevators. I watched until his head vanished below deck level, then moved over to the spot where he'd been sitting, and I stared out at the panoramic view of the oncoming storm.

Me, find shelter? Why bother? Maybe the storm could knock some sense into me. I watched lightning flash in the distance, then saw two consecutive lightning bolts leap from cloud towards the ground. Yep, I'd say there's a good bunch of knocking coming my way.

* * *

Tava ran into the pokemon center, pulling back the dripping wet hood of the cloak from her head. She looked around and sighed. _Where could Imaya be?_ she thought. The pokemon center was packed with people who were taking shelter from the sudden summer storm, but there was no sight of the little black pokemon.

The brunette frowned when she saw a familiar face. Then she paled. It was who she thought it was. _Oh please tell me Imaya hasn't seen you, Tommy Holmsby._

Her fears were confirmed when the handsome trainer spotted her. Instead of walking by her, the famous trainer stopped and smiled, "Hey, Tara, nice to see you."

"It's Tava, actually," she smiled back, though it didn't reach her eyes. She knew Imaya's story and really felt bad for the little dark canine. And having first hand seen Tommy forcibly reject Imaya, she wasn't all that ready to fall for his easy going charms. "How are you doing, Toby?"

"Okay, I know that I messed up your name, but you couldn't really not know mine!" He laughed good naturedly, "I'm as famous in the Pokemon world as Tiger Woods is in golf!"

"I don't think he's someone to reject someone who cares about him."

Tommy said dryly, "I don't think his golf clubs are going to run after him and demand that he takes them back."

"You know what I mean!" Tava ground out. "Look, I'm normally a very polite person, but what you did to Imaya just makes me so angry at you!"

"What I did?" Tommy's bright blue eyes widened, "You mean you haven't seen Imaya? We talked for at least an hour before I had to leave."

"Y…you talked with her?" Tava sputtered. "Where is she?"

Lightning crashed around them and the lights in the pokemon center flickered.

"She's not with you?"

Tava's eyes filled with worried tears, "No…I've been looking for her ever since I got off work an hour and a half ago!"

_"I don't know who you are but I…I'm with you."_

"Oh, Kikoyou, keep her safe," Tava muttered a prayer to the deity the dark pokemon looked up to. "Don't let me fail her."

"Let's stop praying," Tommy shrugged on a rain slicker, "and let's find her. I'm pretty sure I know exactly where she's at." Leaving his backpack with the front desk, Tommy led the way out of the pokemon center and into the raging storm.

* * *

"Stupid slow elevators!" Tava snarled out. "I can't believe you left her up there alone!"

Tommy leaned against the glass wall, "I can't believe you'd leave her alone at all if she's so depressed."

"She was fine when I left her," Tava said, as she paced around the elevator. Only one wall was glass, the others were solid. The floor and ceiling were partially glass, so that the kids – and some adults, could be amused. "I brought her here to relax and to forget about you, and to forget about…" She broke off and looked up through the ceiling of the lift. They were almost at the top.

"Forget about what?" Tommy interjected. "You covered me, so what else would she have to forget about?"

"Her bridge." Tava bit her lower lip, "You know the wooden bridge outside of Viridian?"

"Yeah, sure. It's one of the major routes in."

"It's her bridge," Tava said. "She jumped off of it once, failed to drown. Then she tried holding on to a brick and jumped, but that didn't work either since she couldn't hold on to it."

"You've got to be kidding me," Tommy said, eyes wide in disbelief. "You've got a suicidal Umbreon?"

Tava quirked an eyebrow, "According to her, she's _your_ suicidal Umbreon."

Tommy ran a hand through his hair, "Man…"

The elevator dinged and a very cheerful, pre-recorded voice chirped out, "Welcome to the top floor! You can now see all the way to Cerulean Cit…"

They didn't hear all of it, as they were running out onto the brick paved visitor's center, which was enclosed for shops and eateries. They were all closed, as it was after hours, and void of life. The two were admitted once Tommy told the guard at the bottom what the emergency was.

The doors to the overlook had been unlocked from the ground level, so Tommy and Tava had no problem darting out into the raging storm. The driving rain had turned the packed dirt to mud, and Tava slipped once. Tommy caught her by the arm and the two were running again towards the wooden observation deck that Tommy had left Imaya on.

The two cleared the last stair and saw Imaya sitting beyond a glass panel and railing that kept the visitors from falling off, though no one really ever tried to fall. There was a slight lip, about four feet, to the cliff beyond the railing, so that maintenance could keep the view clear of overgrown greenery, and that was where Imaya was sitting.

"IMAYA!" Tava shrieked. Though whipping wind of the storm tore the words from her, Imaya heard anyway. She stood, turned towards them, and dropped into a crouch as a particularly quick gust blew her against the glass divider.

"Stay here," Tommy demanded, taking out a pokeball as he took a step forward. He called out a warning to the pokemon inside before releasing it.

A flow of white energy mixed with the sudden burst of light from a nearby lightning strike. A form took shape from that energy, and a spider half as tall as Tommy stood there. It shot out a string that attached firmly to the railing.

Tommy thanked his pokemon and used the thick webbing to make his way safely to the railing where Imaya was crouched. The winds gusted from the cliffs, and then back, almost like an unseen ocean wave. The trainer who had once rejected the Umbreon, was now doing his best to save her life.

He looked over the edge of the railing, and where he once marveled at the two hundred foot drop, he now feared its steep descent. Looking back over his shoulder, he motioned for the Ariados to come to his side. When it did, pulling itself along its webbing, he commanded the large spider to use a string shot around the Umbreon, to secure her in a webbing harness.

Before the Ariados could, a particularly strong wind battered Tommy from the side, in a completely new direction than from before. There was a yelp of surprise from Imaya and he could hear her screaming for help as she was pulled off the cliff by the wind.

"NOW!" Tommy bellowed, but his Ariados was one step ahead of him and expertly flung out a nearly transparent webbing.

Breathless, Tommy wanted to lean over and see if his partner was successful, but he knew that would only get him hurt. With the lightning flaring around them, the storm was at its peak. Rain drove down on them and the wind battered them from all sides now.

"PULL UP!" Tommy commanded loudly, knowing he needed to yell to be heard over the wind. After what felt like forever, he was relieved when he could see Imaya, looking more than a little worse for the wear.

Once she was safely in his arms, Tommy had his Ariados guide him back to the stairs. Then he gave Imaya to Tava and recalled his faithful pokemon. The two rushed for the shelter of the eateries.

"Should we stop and see if she's okay?" Tava asked, more than a little fearful. "Will it be safe to ride in the elevators?"

"You don't have her pokeball?"

"No, I didn't think to grab it!" Tava wailed. "She's breathing a bit shallow!"

"I think we better just risk it," Tommy said grimly, "I have my Ariados and I have…one other I would trust with my life."

"Well, you're not just trusting yours," Tava said as they ran for the elevator, "You've got mine and hers."

"Looks like I've always had hers," Tommy said softly.

* * *

While the elevator shook and shimmied on their way down, they faced no life threatening situations. Once the elevator reached ground level, the two had to deal once more with the rain, but on the ground the wind was not as sheer as on top of the cliff.

Feet slapping on pavement, dodging puddles only to run through miniature storm created streams, the two trainers made it to the pokemon center. Shivering in the air conditioning, Tava called out for the lead Nurse, and her shaky tone of voice carried her fear for her companion throughout the center.

Other trainers waiting for the storm to pass saw the two with the little soggy lump of black fur cradled in the female trainer's arms, but they didn't know the seriousness of the situation. They could hear how afraid the girl was for the creature in her arms, but they didn't know why.

The little pokemon was taken from her arms and rushed into the back, and it seemed that once the pokemon had left her, the girl sagged against an equally soaked male trainer at her back. Some of the trainers thought the guy looked familiar, but with his hair plastered against his skull, he looked merely like any other good looking guy.

He lead his female companion over to an empty bench, and once they sat down, the girl turned to him and started crying into his shirt. A nurse's assistant walked over to them with a couple of towels, and the guy accepted them, and placed one around the girl.

A level of tension seemed to lower then, and normalcy resumed from this fearful disruption. Trainers went and looked out of windows at the storm, others played games with their pokemon to pass the time, while others laid back on padded benches and took naps.

"I...I'm sorry," Tava sniffled, and sat up. She looked at Tommy with red rimmed brown eyes. "I'm just so worried about her."

"Well for one thing, I'm already soaked. A little tear shower won't do much damage," Tommy smirked, "And I'm worried about her too. She was pretty banged up from that cliff."

Tava bit at her lower lip, "I…You think she'll pull through?"

"You kidding? She's a fighter, she'll do fine."

* * *

Bright lights danced around me, dazzled me, and for a moment, I wondered if I was dead. Trying to move, reassured me that I wasn't. Then I sucked in a breath, and felt like for a while that I hadn't been breathing at all and remembered to do just that.

Hoping for the best, I cracked open one eye. On seeing an empty room, but one with a window that had a pulled back curtain revealing a very sunny day, I opened both eyes. Blinking away a filmy sleep, I looked myself over. Other than a bandage wrapped around my right foreleg, I looked alright.

With no one in the room with me, though there was an open door to my left that revealed a hallway, I stood on the bed and judged the distance down. Looking down brought back memories of what I thought happened last night. The room spun for a moment, but I forced myself to stand tall.

The distance from the bed to the floor was nothing compared to that cliff. I felt sick inside, a sickness that had nothing to do with vertigo. What had possessed me to go on the other side of that railing? The weather hadn't been all that bad when I did. I slipped through a maintenance entry and walked till I found a nice looking spot, and then suddenly that storm was just _there_ in its full intensity.

This was a new feeling for me. I had never felt disgusted with myself when I tried to end my existence before. Why is this different?

Then I knew. It was because I talked with Tommy. I had closure with him. Even though something inside told me that I had been with him, something else in my felt that chapter of my life had been shut and sealed and that part of me was _fine_ with that.

I knew what I had to do. I had to go find To…Tava. I had to find Tava.

Closing my eyes, I took a breath, and then opened my eyes. Mustering up my courage, I leapt to the floor, bracing myself for any intense pain. A stab of pain shot through my shoulder and along my side, and I clenched my jaws shut to not cry out. The pain didn't go away when I walked to the hallway, but it did settle back to being an ache.

Walking down the hallway with a slight limp, I realized I was in the Lavender pokecenter. I could tell by some scenic photographs showing views from the cliff, and of different cemeteries in town. The hallway was straight and ended up in the main room. I saw a nurse sitting behind the front desk, but she was busy with an older trainer.

Then I noticed my collar, and most importantly the translator tag, was gone. I wondered what had happened to it, but I decided to look in the main waiting room. There were quite a bit of Trainers sitting around, some were reading or talking with each other. Others had their pokemon companions out.

I walked up to a Houndour that was laying out on the floor by its trainer's feet. The trainer was sleeping, leaning against a column. "Hey, excuse me," I whispered to the stretched out Pokemon.

It opened one brown eye and snorted, "Whatcha want, kid?"

A male, good, then it wouldn't be bitchy. "I'm looking for my trainer and I was wondering if you'd seen her."

"What's it look like?"

"Uh, average human female height with brown hair and eyes."

"You mean like the one standing behind you," was the only warning before I was gingerly picked up.

"Imaya!" Tava exclaimed happily, "You're okay!"

Forgetting I didn't have my translator, I started chatting along just as happy as Tava. She set me down, saying, "Just a moment, I have your collar in my pocket."

After it was latched on, I let her pick me up. It was more convenient for me, and my leg was starting to ache some more. I asked her where Tommy was and her smile faded.

"He had to go, Imaya, I'm sorry."

Her words saddened me, but it wasn't because Tommy wasn't here. It was that she sounded afraid of my reaction to her words. I decided it would be best to make her feel better. "That's okay," I reassured her, "I was just hoping I could thank him, as well as you, for saving me."

We paused by the main desk, and the nurse on duty looked surprised that I had gone off to find my trainer. When I explained that I was confused as to where I was, she apologized, "I wasn't sure when you'd wake up!"

_'When I'd wake up?'_ I thought to myself, _'But that was just last night.'_

After we left the pokecenter, I saw that Tava had her suitcase with her. "Tava…what's going on? I thought we were going to be here for a week."

She looked down at me, a little surprised, "Imaya, I forgot! It's actually…well…You've been unconscious for about a week and a half. The nurses had told me that you were gradually coming out of it for the last two days."

So who was the stunned little Umbreon? That would be me. I actually froze in mid-stride and had to sit on my haunches. I'd been unconscious for _that_ long? No wonder Tommy left. He probably had so many things to do.

Shaking my head, I snapped out of my daze. Tava placed me on the suitcase and she wheeled it down the sidewalk to the bus station. She had told me that we'd be taking a bus to Saffron. I watched as the scenery flowed by me. My gaze ran up to the cliffs. In the sunshine, they were gorgeous. It was a beautiful afternoon, with the sun shining in a brilliant blue, cloudless sky.

I frowned at the cliffs. They looked so innocuous, so harmless, but my aching foreleg spoke volumes that they weren't. The suitcase jostled as Tava pulled it up a ramp to the bus station. I watched those cliffs recede once we were on the bus, a clean fueled machine that didn't pollute.

The cliffs slowly got smaller, and finally vanished behind trees, only finally out of my sight due to nature. I'm sure if the road was clear, I could see them right till we got to Saffron. I finally turned my head away from the window, catching a glimpse of a herd of Tauros running in a fenced in field.

Lying my head against Tava's legs, I tried to get some sleep. Closing my eyes against the brilliant sunlight, feeling the sun's rays heating my coat, I let the bouncing of the bus rock me to sleep.

* * *

Saffron was a city so different from Lavender that it was incredibly refreshing. There was no death, no cemeteries. People bustled to and fro, shopping, going out with friends, and just living. There were street performers, little carts with food, and pokemon demonstrations.

One other thing Saffron had was a very powerful psychic by the name of Sabrina.

"What are we doing here?" I asked as we walked up to a…"Are we going to battle?"

"No!" Tava laughed, "We're here to see someone in the gym, but we're not going to battle."

The doors opened with a soft hiss, and we stepped through, luggage and all. I was walking by Tava's side. Well, limping anyway. The air was cool and the building was quiet. There were none of the usual sounds one would hear in a human building. No heels clicking on a tiled floor (and there were tiles everywhere here), no laughing, or –

"This place is creepy," I muttered, but followed Tava to what looked like a reception desk.

There was no one behind the desk, but once Tava signed her name on a sheet of paper, the paper vanished. Just as soon as Tava went to sit down, a door opened where I could swear there was no door before, and a blonde woman gestured for Tava to follow her.

"Please, take your luggage with you," she said softly, "We have a safe place for you to store it during your appointment."

"What appointment?" I asked as I followed Tava and the blonde woman through the door. My fur shivered as I stepped through the door. There was something paranormal going on here.

For however strange this place was, it sort of reminded me of a doctor's office I'd seen once with Tava. We walked down a narrow hall way and then into a room. "You may leave your luggage here, it will be safe and here upon your return."

_'Our return?__ From where?' _I thought to myself, but just watched as Tava placed her suitcase in a locker of sorts. There was no key though, and the blonde woman said something that the locker would know Tava's touch.

We then followed her out of the room and to what looked like a dead end of the hallway. There were two tiles at the end of the hallway, one was red and one was blue. Both shimmered and reeked of some sort of power.

"Take the blue squares closest to you to get to the exam room," she explained, "On your return, take the red squares closest to you. You may want to hold your Umbreon. Since she's been recently injured, there will be less nausea for her if you hold her."

"Yes, thank you," Tava said, then crouched down and picked me up. "No squirming, okay?"

I wished I had the facial muscles to make a face at her, "I'm not a pup!"

Tava chuckled, and then stepped onto the blue square. Tingles ran all over me and I closed my eyes as the room shimmered and seemed to dissolve. That was all I needed to see. The tingles stopped and I opened my eyes to see…

"A room with no windows?" I gaped, "What crazy human built this?"

The crazy thing about it was that there were now four square colored tiles in the room. One blue in the far left, one red in the far right, one blue to the left of us and one red one to the right of us. Tava walked over to the blue square on the left and I burrowed my head in the crook of her arm.

More tingles and then nothing. I ventured a look and saw, to my relief, an examination room. There was one blue tile to our right, and a red one to the left. Ahead of us was a desk with a purple haired woman sitting behind it. In front of the desk were two chairs. Behind those chairs was a raised padded table. Why would anyone make a raised padded table?

"Please set the Umbreon on the table," A woman's voice rang clearly around us.

I felt a little offended, but complied as Tava set me on the table. My first instinct was to jump off the table and try to find a pokeball to hide in, and I hate pokeballs.

"Your Umbreon is an interesting creature," the woman said, looking down at a paper. "You say that she was found in Viridian City just this past December?"

"Yes, she was," Tava said, "I found her, actually."

The woman looked past Tava to me. Her equally purple eyes bore into me, almost painfully. It felt like she was digging into me with her eyes. I let out a little whimper at the pain and shut my eyes against her.

"What are you doing?" Tava asked, alarmed at my whimper.

When the pain subsided, I opened my eyes. The woman smoothed her hair and arched an eyebrow, "I was taking a peek at her memories. They're fascinating. I've never heard of a Pokemon that was suicidal."

If I were human, I'd be blushing. As it was, I felt more than a little uncomfortable to hear my actions put so bluntly. "That was rude," I managed to snarl out.

"Imaya, she's only trying to help you."

"More like hurt," I protested, "and she succeeded at that."

"It wouldn't hurt if you wouldn't try to block me out."

"I didn't even try!" I complained, "I didn't even know _you_ were the one doing that."

"I apologize for not warning you, but I would like to start again," she nodded, "But this time you have to drop your shielding."

"How?" I was frustrated, "I don't even know what a shield is."

"Just relax," the psychic said, "and it will drop naturally."

"Besides, I could've had my Alakazam scan you, but it wouldn't have been painless like a professionally trained psychic could do for you," Tava twisted in her chair to see me, "And this was set up for you by To…"

My eyes widened, "Tommy? He set this up?"

"Not really _set_ up," Tava sighed, "More like he arranged this. The psychics in Saffron are very talented and knowledgeable about this sort of thing. This will free your true memories."

"I…" I frowned in my little Umbreon way, "…Okay, go for it."

-TBC-

**

* * *

Author's notes:**

Yes, I will have an end to Imaya's story. The next one will be up sooner than the two or so years it took to do this one. I don't know if I'll be using Avril Lavigne again, but I think she'll have a happy ending.

Here's your turn to guess as to what happened to Imaya. Let me know in a review!

The song that Imaya had heard in the pub was from a song by Jan Arden called Insensitive.

The lyrics are:

How do you block the sound of a voice  
You'd know anywhere?


End file.
